Love of Cinema

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Writer Sudip Sharma (NH10, Udta Punjab, Paatal Lok, Laal Kaptaan) joins us for a Sonchiriya deep dive. Sonchiriya is one of my favorite films of last 10 years. It's also my favorite Sushant Singh Rajput film. I believe his performance, much like the film, remains underrated and under-discovered. This episode is, in part, an attempt to help people discover and appreciate Sonchiriya. Sudip and I talked about key...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Gupt: The Hidden Truth evokes a wide range of memories for many. The timeless soundtrack by Viju Shah, the smashing reveal, wild dialogue, Rajiv Rai's direction, Ashok Mehta's cinematography, the amusing ensemble of supporting cast and of course, Manisha Koirala, Kajol and Bobby Deol. As the film turns 25, cricket historian, statistician and author Abhishek Mukherjee joins us, in the capacity of a Bobby Deol fan and Gu...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! A senior film journalist once mentioned that Gauri Khan (SRK's wife) once told her that reel-life Sunil of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa was very similar to real-life SRK. Hardik Mehta (Trapped, Kaamyaab, Decoupled) joins me to talk about Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994), a film that holds a special place in the hearts of many 90s kids and fans of SRK. Join us as we fanboy over SRK and Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa! Fee...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Rajamouli's newest movie is more than 3 hours long. Can't recall the last time I watched a film that long and walked out of the cinemas wishing it was longer. Loved it. Film critic Josh Hurtado joins us for a deep dive of RRR as we try to unpack the film's goodness, Rajamouli's arc, and the film's traction outside India. We chatted about our favorite moments from the film, the magnetic charisma of Ram Char...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Sagar Haveli, who co-wrote Paatal Lok, joins us for a deep dive of Sriram Raghavan's Johnny Gaddaar (2007). Sagar and I tried to unpack how Raghavan excels at building tension and doing it beautifully, while paying homage to classic films and masters of cinema like Hitchcock, Vijay Anand, De Palma and Brij. We chatted about — the creative transitions, the strong characterization, the on-note casting, Dhar...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Rakhee Sandilya co-wrote and directed the engaging 2017 drama Ribbon, starring Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas. She joins us for the next installment in our series of deep dives with screenwriters/filmmakers on their favorite films. Rakhee chose Mira Nair's celebrated 2001 drama Monsoon Wedding. We tried to unpack why Monsoon Wedding was such a bold and important film, and how it was a triumph of weaving together multip...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! A look back at A R Rahman of 90s with popular music blogger and Rahman super-fan, Karthik Srinivasan. We revisit 16 songs from 90s, curated with the singular goal of showcasing what made Rahman of 90s so unique and special. The collection includes songs in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam. We've tried to stay clear of Rahman anthems in the interest of maintaining a HIGH 'discovery factor' for most listeners.&n...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! This season, a small series of deep dives with directors/screenwriters on personal favorites, where I asked a small group of directors and screenwriters to talk about a favorite film that they have admired over the years. First up, writer-director Atul Sabharwal (Powder, Aurangzeb, Class of '83) on J. P. Dutta's Ghulami (1985). Feedback/comments/questions: loveofcinemasf@gmail.com Credits: Produced and hosted ...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Writer-director Gautham Vasudev Menon joins us on the season's last episode to talk about his writing, straddling the genres of action and romance, his process behind picturizing songs, and RHTDM at 20! He shared cool stories behind Thalli Pogathey and Aaromale, the prominent use of closeups in his storytelling, what he makes of RHTDM's criticism, why Mani Ratnam thought Minnale was not the right movie for Madhavan at...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Film historian and writer Gautam Chintamani joins us for a deep dive into Ramesh Sippy's Shakti (1982). A film that Sippy is most proud of, by some accounts. A film that's Salim Khan's personal favorite among the films he co-wrote with Javed Akhtar. A film that pits together two giants of Hindi cinema, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. Gautam and I tried to unpack why Shakti is one of Dilip Kumar's...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! An hour with screenwriter Ritesh Shah on D-Day (2013), Pink (2016) and Raid (2018). We dissected scenes from those films and chatted about writing dialogue, screenwriting tips, Salim-Javed and what makes them special, some of Ritesh's fave screenplays: L. A. Confidential (1997) and October (2018), and much more. Feedback/comments/questions: loveofcinemasf@gmail.com Credits: Produced and hosted by: Him...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Gulzar's poetically cinematic Ijaazat (1987) is perhaps Hindi cinema's most mature exploration of divorce and live-in relationships. It's also a film whose dialogue is almost as lyrical as its songs. Featuring a memorable feature-length waltz between two fine actors, Rekha and Naseeruddin Shah, and a terrific soundtrack by Pancham, Ijaazat is a film that truly showcases Gulzar's poetic sensibilities. A film worth cele...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! One of our absolute greats and arguably the most versatile Hindi filmmaker of all-time, Vijay Anand, left behind a legacy worthy of frequent celebration. Filmmaker, film instructor and co-founder of the popular film blog, Upperstall — Karan Bali joins us to celebrate Vijay Anand and revisit one of his favorites, Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963). We chatted about the legendary director's craft, his gift for filming songs, h...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Chances are, if you love Hindi cinema, you love Amitabh Bachchan and his films. Having grown up in the 90s, well past peak Bachchan mania, I've always wondered what it would've been like to have lived through that peak mania. What must the thrill have been like to have witnessed his stardom at its peak? To get a better idea, I spoke with a small group of cinephiles and Bachchan fans who were fortunate enough t...

Hi everyone, thanks for listening. Drop a line or two about the episode! Early in his career, Shah Rukh Khan did a series of films where he played the anti-hero. One of those films was Ram Jaane (1995), a full-bodied remake of the James Cagney classic, Angels with Dirty Faces. Ram Jaane could've been a career-defining film for SRK but it failed to have a lasting impact. Nevertheless, it's a very peculiar film and if you're a SRK fan, you probably have many memories around the film. ...